maddieabbott's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
godlizza's review against another edition
3.0
This book starts off as an action-packed political thriller and turns into a superhero mecha story. It's a little wild. The third act really sees Lovegrove just hit 'fuck it' and go completely off the rails (pun intended).
Things I liked: having a mysterious Batman-esque vigilante roaming the streets of London like something out of a nightmare. Any time Holmes deals with the fantastical or the extraordinary, it's always fun.
Things I didn't like: the revelation of the Baron's backstory and how it totally refrigerates this poor woman, Delphine. Using the rape of a woman as a plot device to further a male character's storyline is never something I'll enjoy. It was just needlessly gratuitous and added nothing to the story. There are other ways to create beef between two men without sacrificing a woman on the literary slab.
Things I liked: having a mysterious Batman-esque vigilante roaming the streets of London like something out of a nightmare. Any time Holmes deals with the fantastical or the extraordinary, it's always fun.
Things I didn't like: the revelation of the Baron's backstory and how it totally refrigerates this poor woman, Delphine. Using the rape of a woman as a plot device to further a male character's storyline is never something I'll enjoy. It was just needlessly gratuitous and added nothing to the story. There are other ways to create beef between two men without sacrificing a woman on the literary slab.
tacanderson's review against another edition
3.0
This was an excellent book. The writing was strong, and Lovegrove knows his Sherlock Holmes. The premise of the book is that it's written by Watson much later in life and there are shed loads of references to Doyle's other Sherlock stories. In fact, Lovegrove even takes it upon himself to rectify a few earlier inconsistencies. Some people might find this a bit pretentious as it didn't really add anything to the story but I found it a fun nod to the Holmes cannonites who might be reading.
The writing is not for from Doyle's but I don't think Lovegrove was trying to mimic him and I tend to like it better when authors of pastiches don't. Besides the steampunk nature of the story there are some modern themes that Doyle would not likely address, like various sexual predilections.
A note on the steampunk, it's not over the top (except the end) but it's not bashful either. There's a 19th century Iron Man and vigilante, there's a lighter than air flying machine, and there's a train that transforms into a steampunk mech robot. Yeah that's the one over the top part and I could have lived without it. In fact if it wasn't for that part of the ending, I probably would have given this a 4 star rating.
The writing is not for from Doyle's but I don't think Lovegrove was trying to mimic him and I tend to like it better when authors of pastiches don't. Besides the steampunk nature of the story there are some modern themes that Doyle would not likely address, like various sexual predilections.
A note on the steampunk, it's not over the top (except the end) but it's not bashful either. There's a 19th century Iron Man and vigilante, there's a lighter than air flying machine, and there's a train that transforms into a steampunk mech robot. Yeah that's the one over the top part and I could have lived without it. In fact if it wasn't for that part of the ending, I probably would have given this a 4 star rating.
schwimfan's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
ulexic's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
erikbail's review against another edition
3.0
Certainly not nightmare stuff but the game is afoot and it's a fun rendition of Mr holmes
metalandmets's review against another edition
5.0
4.75 out of 5.00
This was an incredibly fun read.
The Stuff of Nightmares was my first foray into the Sherlock lore and I thought it was great. My first and only exposure to James Lovegrove was the Pantheon Series and I was happy to finally branch out to his other works; this proves he is a very skilled writer in many arenas.
The second person point of view was a bit jarring at first, but I quickly settled into it. The mystery and Sherlock’s deductive skills were really well done. The story was well and meticulously crafted, which brought us to a nice finish.
One gripe I had, emphasis on had, was his action. It was weird, because action was something he was great at in Pantheon, but the ending sequence more than made up for some earlier hand-to-hand combat scenes. My only other gripe was having to stop to try and Google words every other paragraph, but it did make me a little smarter.
Excited to read the next.
This was an incredibly fun read.
The Stuff of Nightmares was my first foray into the Sherlock lore and I thought it was great. My first and only exposure to James Lovegrove was the Pantheon Series and I was happy to finally branch out to his other works; this proves he is a very skilled writer in many arenas.
The second person point of view was a bit jarring at first, but I quickly settled into it. The mystery and Sherlock’s deductive skills were really well done. The story was well and meticulously crafted, which brought us to a nice finish.
One gripe I had, emphasis on had, was his action. It was weird, because action was something he was great at in Pantheon, but the ending sequence more than made up for some earlier hand-to-hand combat scenes. My only other gripe was having to stop to try and Google words every other paragraph, but it did make me a little smarter.
Excited to read the next.
gnostalgia's review against another edition
5.0
*** Free review copy provided by Titan Books
Review on Gnostalgia
First allow me to reveal my bias, I love steampunk and Holmes. With that admission in mind, it should come as no surprise that I loved every minute of Lovegrove’s “The Stuff of Nightmares.”
If you read “Encounters of Sherlock Holmes” (my review), you have a small sample of Lovegrove and Holmes. ”The Stuff of Nightmares” is a fast-paced story told through the perspective of Dr. Watson (as a Holmes story should) and begins with a blast — or should I say bomb. As the story plays out, we are introduced to an interesting character (Baron Cauchemar) along the lines of a steampunk Batman/Ironman.
The story is set sometime before the “Final Problem” and is extremely well-written and crafted. I give “The Stuff of Nightmares” 5 stars out of 5 and add in the words of Oliver Twist “Please, sir, I want some more“.
Please Titan Books … I want some more.
Review on Gnostalgia
First allow me to reveal my bias, I love steampunk and Holmes. With that admission in mind, it should come as no surprise that I loved every minute of Lovegrove’s “The Stuff of Nightmares.”
If you read “Encounters of Sherlock Holmes” (my review), you have a small sample of Lovegrove and Holmes. ”The Stuff of Nightmares” is a fast-paced story told through the perspective of Dr. Watson (as a Holmes story should) and begins with a blast — or should I say bomb. As the story plays out, we are introduced to an interesting character (Baron Cauchemar) along the lines of a steampunk Batman/Ironman.
The story is set sometime before the “Final Problem” and is extremely well-written and crafted. I give “The Stuff of Nightmares” 5 stars out of 5 and add in the words of Oliver Twist “Please, sir, I want some more“.
Please Titan Books … I want some more.
queerbillydeluxe's review against another edition
4.0
I am loving this series of Sherlock Holmes novels! I've only read a George Mann and two Lovegroves but they are awesome so far. Now to manage to get hold of the rest of them...
jenniferfoglesong's review against another edition
4.0
Not enough awesome ladies in the book, but are there ever? Otherwise fantastic. Highly recommend!